Laurie Anderson is a free-spirited, creative genius whose work engages and mesmerizes audiences all over the world. She is one of the most famous and acclaimed experimental-performance artists in the United States of America. Anderson has the ability to give that special edge to all of her performances, whether it’s a symphony of automobile horns or playing the violin while wearing frozen skates. She has managed to make work employing a number of media throughout the course of her four-decade career, including sculpture, spoken-word lyrics, videos, and projected imaginations. She has exhibited her work in a number of major museums across the world and has seven Warner Bros. albums to her credit. When compared to modern artists and musicians, Anderson’s unique performances display enormous creative force. She is known as the “godmother of the New York art scene.” On live, she is wildly unpredictable, delicately blending her experimental compositions with pop-synthesizing sounds. ‘Duets On Ice,’ ‘O Superman,’ ‘Home of the Brave,’ ‘Homeland,’ ‘The Waters Reglitterized,’ and ‘Big Science’ are just a few of her well-known pieces.
Childhood and Adolescence
Laurie Anderson was born to Mary Louise and Arthur T. Anderson in Glen Ellyn, an affluent community in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. She attended Ellyn Avenue’s Glenbard West High School, then Mills College in California, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in art history from Barnard College in New York.
She performed her first art piece/performance in 1969, using an automobile horn to play the symphony. She earned a master’s degree in fine arts from Columbia University in 1972, with a focus on sculpting. She worked as an art critic and art instructor after college, as well as illustrating children’s books.
Career of Laurie Anderson
She played the violin while wearing ice skates with frozen blades that melted after the performance in one of her most remembered performances, ‘Duets On Ice,’ in the 1970s. She performed at ‘The Nova Convention’ in 1978 and collaborated with comedian Andy Kaufman. ‘O Superman,’ her half-sung, half-spoken hit single, was released in 1981. The song was an instant hit, and she got a lot of popularity and acclaim as a result. She was also signed to Warner Bros. Records for a seven-year album deal.
She recorded the double album ‘You’re the Guy I Want To Share My Money With’ in 1981 with John Giorno and William S. Burroughs, which was initially recorded during the ‘Red Night’ spoken word tour. Her debut album, ‘Big Science,’ was published by Warner Bros. Records in 1982. With this album, she also re-released the hit song “O Superman.” The album’s main characteristic was that it was primarily comprised of spoken word.
In 1984, she released her second album, ‘Mister Heartbreak,’ which included the single ‘Sharkey’s Day,’ which went on to become one of the most successful music videos of the period. In 1986, she directed and starred in the concert film ‘Home of the Brave.’ ‘What You Mean We?’ was a made-for-television short musical film directed by her in 1987. She also played a role in the film. She presented the PBS show ‘Alive from Off Center,’ and the film was made for it.
Her album ‘Strange Angels’ was published in 1989. In comparison to her previous albums, she made a conscious effort to focus more on singing on this one. Bobby McFerrin, a vocalist, also contributes to this CD.
She was a jury member at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival in 1991, and she starred in the documentary film ‘The Human Face’ that same year. ‘Bright Red,’ a pop-oriented album produced by Brian Eno, was released in 1994. The album was split into two sections, with the first labelled ‘Bright Red’ and the second titled ‘Tightrope.’
Her retrospective CD, ‘Talk Normal: The Laurie Anderson Anthology,’ was released in the year 2000. This CD included all of her previously released songs up until the year 2000.
Her album ‘Life on a String,’ which was recorded in New York City and directed by Sk rik Sverisson, was released in 2001. In contrast to her spoken-word albums, this one was more of a musical CD. She was chosen as one of NASA’s first artist-in-residences in 2003, which inspired her to create the performance work “The End of the Moon.” In the same year, she worked on a project for the Paris Opera called ‘O Zlozony/O Composite.’
In 2005, she had a show called ‘The Waters Reglitterized’ at the Sean Kelly Gallery in New York City, where she presented her work. She had prints, sketches, and high-definition movies on exhibit, among other things. ‘Only an Expert’ and ‘Pictures and Things’ were featured on her album ‘Homeland’, which was released in 2010.
Major Projects of Laurie Anderson
‘O Superman,’ which was released in 1981, reached number two on the UK Singles Charts and also topped the ‘Village Voice Pazz & Jop’ singles poll. ‘Home of the Brave,’ a concert film, was directed by her. The film garnered positive critical reviews despite its lack of financial success.
Achievements & Awards
She was awarded the Gish Prize in 2007 for her “great contribution to the beauty of the planet as well as mankind’s enjoyment and knowledge of life.” She was named the Inaugural Distinguished Artist-In-Residence at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 2012.
Personal History and Legacy
Lewis Allan ‘Lou’ Reed, an American songwriter, rock musician, and photographer, married her in 2008.
Estimated Net Worth
Laurie Anderson has a net worth of $2 million. She is an experimental performance artist, composer, and musician from the United States. Laura Phillips Anderson was born on June 5, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and is best recognized for her work as a violinist and singer in a range of experimental and art rock styles.
Trivia
This well-known American performer and musician married her beau in a private ceremony in Colorado, and the news of their union was only made public after the wedding celebrations in New York.